Cushman & Wakefield Reports Increase in Revenue and Earnings for 2011

Cushman & Wakefield, which is majority owned by EXOR S.p.A., the investment company of the Agnelli family, reported gross revenue of $2.0 billion for the full year 2011, an increase of $236.3 million, or 13.4%, compared to the full year 2010. The performance was the second highest revenue in the firm's history, after only 2007, when the firm reported $2.1 billion in revenue. Commission and service fee revenue, which excludes reimbursed costs related to managed properties and other costs, increased $172.7 million, or 12.3%, to $1.6 billion.

For the full-year 2011, net income on an IFRS basis[i] improved $1.8 million, or 13.7%, to $14.9 million.[ii] Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)[iii] rose 19.7% to $111.1 million, compared to $92.8 million for 2010.

On a U.S. GAAP basis,[iv] net income for the full year 2011 fell $6.7 million to $19.0 million, primarily due to a year-over-year increase in income taxes. EBITDA on a U.S. GAAP basis increased $2.1 million, or 2.0%, to $109.4 million year-over-year. The difference between the company's performance on a U.S. GAAP basis and an IFRS basis is due primarily to the accounting for compensation-related taxes and charges, the non-controlling interests' put option rights and certain income taxes.[v]

2011 Full-Year Highlights:

-Second consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth
-Significant revenue growth in all service lines and world regions
-On an IFRS basis, EBITDA margin increased from 6.6% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2011, representing an increase in EBITDA of $18.3 million, or 19.7%
-Value of global sales and leasing transactions rose $22 billion in 2011 to approximately $89 billion

"In 2011 Cushman & Wakefield moved aggressively, with the full support of EXOR, to implement its long-term strategic plan" said Glenn J. Rufrano, president and chief executive officer of Cushman & Wakefield. "This positioned the firm well to benefit from significant improvements in market conditions in the first half of the year and to finish with improved performance and transaction volume despite a challenging fourth quarter for the sector. Full-year operating performance improved significantly, and the company was able to take big strides on major initiatives, including global alignment of management, providing a consistent service mix, restructuring our credit facilities, continued reduction of debt, and making strategic hires. We will remain focused on executing on our plan and delivering the best real estate services to our clients."

In 2011, Cushman & Wakefield acted as exclusive leasing and sales agent for many of the most prestigious properties worldwide. The firm was involved in more than 31,000 property sales and leasing transactions, with an aggregate value of nearly $89 billion. Highlights of 2011 included working as the exclusive agent on behalf of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and The Durst Organization to arrange a one-million-square-foot office lease to Condé Nast at One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan; advising Google on its €100 million acquisition of two buildings in Dublin, the city's largest investment transaction since 2007; arranging the $715 million sale of Capital Square, a 386,000-square-foot, class-A office building in Singapore; representing Nomura Holdings in its 900,000-square-foot lease at Worldwide Plaza in Manhattan; and completing the year's largest office lease globally through its representation of Shell Oil Company in its 1.2 million square foot renewal in Houston.

The Company's primary service lines include Leasing, Corporate Occupier & Investor Services, Valuation & Advisory, Capital Markets and Consulting. For 2011, growth was led primarily by Leasing, Corporate Occupier & Investor Services and Capital Markets; however, all service lines experienced significant year-over-year revenue growth.

As the trend of corporate real estate outsourcing strengthens, Cushman & Wakefield continues to gain major assignments globally and regionally on behalf of major corporations and institutions. During 2011, Cushman & Wakefield's Corporate Occupier & Investor Services Group continued to win major accounts worldwide, including Ernst & Young, New York Life, United Technologies and Harley Davidson.

For more detailed information on Cushman & Wakefield's full-year 2011 financial results, visit www.exor.com.

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Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world's major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917 it has 243 offices in 60 countries and more than 14,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, fully-integrated on a global basis, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $5.5 billion in assets under management through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Investors. A recognized leader in local and global real estate research, the firm publishes its market information and studies online at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge.

NOTE: This release may include forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to analyses and other information based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These statements may also relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies. These forward-looking statements are made based on our management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us and are subject to uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These uncertainties and factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. Undue reliance should not be made on any forward-looking statements. C&W assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If forward-looking statements are updated, no inference should be drawn that C&W will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

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[i] For the purpose of adhering to regulatory reporting requirements for EXOR S.p.A., Cushman & Wakefield's majority shareholder, Cushman & Wakefield's financial results are presented by EXOR under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRIS"), as opposed to under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). Cushman & Wakefield's financial results under IFRIS vary from those presented on a U.S. GAAP basis. The difference between the IFRS and U.S. GAAP measures of net income is primarily due to the accounting for compensation-related taxes and charges, the non-controlling interests' put option rights and certain income tax adjustments. The difference between the EBITDA under IFRS and the EBITDA under U.S. GAAP is attributable to those same items, excluding the income tax impacts.

[ii] The 2011 net income results under IFRS were negatively impacted by an increase in income tax expense of $30.3 million to $35.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared with $5.3 million for 2010, representing an increase in the Company's reported tax rate to 70.5% for the current year, as compared with 28.6% for the prior year. On a comparative basis, the 2011 reported rate was negatively impacted by a year-over-year increase in discrete period and other net charges and the generation of a higher mix of C&W Group's earnings in the U.S., which are taxed at higher rates. The discrete and other net charges and change in mix negatively impacted the 2011 reported rate by approximately 22 percentage points, while the mix of earnings in the prior year positively impacted the 2010 reported rate by approximately 19 percentage points.

[iii] The Company's management believes that EBITDA is useful in evaluating its operating performance compared to that of other companies in its industry, because the calculation of EBITDA generally eliminates the effects of financing, income taxes, capital spending and acquisitions, which may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. The Company's management uses EBITDA to evaluate the performance of various service lines and for other discretionary purposes, including the use of a measure of EBITDA, before taking into account incentive compensation, as a significant component when measuring performance under its employee incentive programs. Management also believes EBITDA is useful to its investors as a measure of results from operations.

[iv] Cushman & Wakefield's peer group reports financial results on a U.S. GAAP basis, while Cushman & Wakefield provides its results on an IFRS and U.S. GAAP basis.

[v] Similar to IFRS, the 2011 net income results under U.S. GAAP were negatively impacted by an increase in income tax expense of $22.9 million to $30.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared with $7.5 million for 2010, representing an increase in the Company's reported tax rate to 61.5% for the current year, as compared with 22.6% for the prior year. The year-over-year increase in the reported rate is primarily attributable to the same reasons driving the IFRS reported rate, as outlined above, excluding the tax impacts relating to the non-controlling interests' put option rights and certain stock-based compensation impacts, as these only affected Cushman & Wakefield's IFRS results.